I have been down with a pretty badass cold…flu…or some evil hex put upon me for the last three days. I’m even wondering if someone gave me “Ojo” at the grocery store on Monday. It has kept me from doing any and all things needing to be done but, I finally took my feeble ass to the doctor yesterday. And, today, I am making my recipe for Butternut Squash Garam Masala Soup.

Being at my weakest point, I felt vulnerable and emotional connections with my surroundings. I could sense such ill vibes in the waiting room coming from other patients. The crooked picture frame just behind the receptionist was attacking my OCD so severely, I asked her to straighten it. She just looked at me with a face that said, “Are you for real?” She did not fix it.

When time to reminisce creeps in…

As I waited in the room for the doctor, I began to reminisce about the times my mother would take me to our family doctor when I was a child. Dr. Chandler was amazing. His office was in an old house that used to be a small pier and beam home. I could always hear the nurse walking to our exam room; she was rather healthy and the floor screamed it out loud. At that exact moment, my heart would sink with fear because I knew she had a shot in her hand with my name on it.

Putting fears aside, I loved Dr. Chandler. He was the one who had caught my mother’s cancer…just not in time. Remembering her at that moment made me believe she was there with me and that seemed to calm my nerves for a bit. After my visit, I walked out the door with my prescription and an uncomfortable skin-crawlish feeling of knowing the picture frame would never be straightened.

Once I got to the pharmacist, my memories began rolling back into my mind. Mom would take me directly to the pharmacist and buy my meds along with cherry cough drops, canned soups, Vick’s vapor rub (a MUST for Mexicans), oranges, and 7-up.

The pharmacist, who looked just like Juice from Sons of Anarchy, said, “Well…YOU’RE sure in a good mood to be sick!” I just politely chuckled but, what I really wanted to say was, “Fuck off, Juice. You’re interrupting my moment of reminiscence.” Two prescriptions, 1 7-up, a bag of cough drops, and 1 container of Vick’s later, out the door I went once again.

Sparked Dreams From Reminiscing

I guess thinking about mom all day made me dream of her last night. In my dream, she went missing. After two weeks with no word from her, I started to panic that something very wrong had happened to her. Then, I woke up. As I walked to the bathroom half asleep still, I remember thinking, “Where the hell is she!?!?” Once my skin hit the toilet seat, I REALLY woke up, realized I was only dreaming and remembered mom had been gone for almost twenty years. I let out a big sigh of relief. I just chalked it up as a trip out from the fever combined with the medications I had taken and staggered back to bed.

It’s days like these I wish mom was around. No matter how old we are, I don’t think we will ever NOT miss or need our moms and their gifts to comfort. This soup will have to do. If you are craving a less creamy soup, try this delicious recipe. Until next time, mom….